International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD)

Volume: 3 | Issue: 3 | Mar-Apr 2019 Available Online: www.ijtsrd.com e-ISSN: 2456 - 6470

Additive Manufacturing of Leaf Spring

K. Vinay Kumar Reddy1, B. Bhaskar2, Gautam Raj2, G. Vinay Kumar2
1Assistant Professor, 2Student
1,2Department of Mechanical Engineering, Guru Nanak Institute of Technology, Hyderabad, Telangana, India

How to cite this paper: K. Vinay Kumar ABSTRACT

Reddy | B. Bhaskar | Gautam Raj | G. Additive manufacturing (AM), colloquially known as 3-D printing, refers to set of
Vinay Kumar "Additive Manufacturing emerging technological that offer unique capabilities However, this design
of Leaf Spring" Published in freedom is countered by build envelope and production rate constraints
International Journal of Trend in characteristic of most commercially available AM equipment. This paper
Scientific Research and Development presents an approach for architecting complex additively manufactured
(ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456- products using the design structure matrix (DSM), a methodology that can map
6470, Volume-3 | out components and interfaces at the system level. By building and manipulating
Issue-3, April 2019, a DSM of a proof-of-concept product, various architectures are explored
pp.1666-1667, URL: considering size and structural constraints of additively manufactured
https://www.ijtsrd.c components.
om/papers/ijtsrd23
528.pdf IJTSRD23528
KEYWORDS: Composite Materials, Design structure matrix, ANSYS
Copyright © 2019 by author(s) and
International Journal of Trend in
Scientific Research and Development
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Attribution License (CC BY 4.0)
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by/4.0)
I. INTRODUCTION
A leaf spring is a simple form of spring commonly used forthe automobile manufacturers are attempting to reduce the
suspension in wheeled vehicles. Originally called a laminated weight of vehicles in recent years. Weight reduction can be
or carriage spring, andsometimes referred to as a semi- achieved primarily by the introduction of better material,
elliptical spring or cart spring, it is one of the oldest forms of design optimization and better manufacturing processes.
springing, appearing on carriages in England after 1750 and
from there migrating to France. II. EXPERIMENTAL WORK
A. How Leaf Springs Work:
Before you start your towing trip, it's a good idea to go over a
brief checklist -- for safety’s sake. You take a good look in your
mirrors, adjusting them correctly in order to see passing
traffic on the road. You've chosen the correct hitch and
connected the towing vehicle to the trailer properly. The
brake lights and braking systems are working synchronously,
assuring you of the ride's legality. With everything loaded up,
Fig 1. Independent front suspension by transverse leaf you're pretty confident the truck is ready for the job, so you
head out on the road toward your destination. Once you reach
Leaf springs are mainly used in suspension systems to absorb a steady speed, however, the trailer behind your truck starts
shock loads in automobiles like light motor vehicles, heavy to bounce and sway a little more than it should. Pulling over
duty trucks and in rail systems. It carries lateral loads, brake to the side of the road, you rack your brains to figure out
torque, driving torque in addition to shock absorbing. The what you missed. You start to wonder if your cargo weight is
advantage of leaf spring over helical spring is that the ends of maybe too high -- but what can you do about it? In this
the spring may be guided along a definite path as it deflects to situation, if there's too much cargo weighing down a towed
act as a structural member in addition to energy absorbing vehicle, causing everything to rock and sway, the issue may
device be with the suspension. If a Design and Analysis of Leaf Spring
by Using Composite Material for Light Vehicles truck's
According to the studies made a material with maximum suspension is too rigid, its wheels will often leave the
strength and minimum modulus of elasticity in the pavement after hitting bumps; a good suspension, on the other
longitudinal direction is the most suitable material for a leaf hand, keeps the wheels on the ground as much as possible.
spring. To meet the need of natural resources conservation, Many towers use leaf springs to stabilize their towed load and

@ IJTSRD | Unique Paper ID – IJTSRD23528 | Volume – 3 | Issue – 3 | Mar-Apr 2019 Page: 1666
 International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (IJTSRD) @ www.ijtsrd.com eISSN: 2456-6470
to keep their cargo grounded. Although you may not ever
have heard about or even noticed leaf springs on larger tow
vehicles, the technology has been around for centuries and is
one of the earliest forms of suspension. Even Leonardo da
Vinci used leaf springs in his diagram for a self-propelled car.
But how do they work? Are there different types of leaf
springs? And how do you install them onto a vehicle?
III. Design of Leaf Spring
Model-Mahindra “Model-Ommander 650 Di”
Number of leaf springs = 10
Overall length of the spring = 2L1 = 115cm = 1150mm.
Width of leaves = 50 mm
Assuming factor of safety=1.33 Number of full-length leaves =
2 = Nf
Number of graduated leaves = 8 = Ng
Number of springs = 10= (Ng+Nf)
Centre load = 2W =1910kg
2W =1910 X 10 X 1.33 is nearly 25403 N
2W = 25403/4 = 6350.7N
2W = = 6350.7 N
W = 3200 N nearly
Material used for leaf spring: structural steel
IV. Prototype MANUFACTURING
We used a hand-lay-up method to produce the prototype of a
single composite leaf spring. The constant cross section
design is used which accommodate continuous reinforcement
of fibres and quite suitable for hand lay-up technique. 40
layers of E-glass fibre of 0.4 mm thick each are used to
achieve 17 mm thickness of the designed leaf spring.
The steps below are followed during prototyping:

Preparing moulds as per the shape of the leaf spring and
the setup.

Preparing stiffener and clamping plates.

Cutting fibres to desired dimensions.

Applying wax/gel on the fibre side of the lower mould
for ease of removal.

Preparing mixture of epoxy resin and polyamine
hardener.

Apply the mixture just above the wax.

Start laying up the first ply and apply the matrix on it
again, repeat the same procedure up to the desired
thickness.

Apply the matrix well on the topmost layer and Cover the
upper mould after the wax film is done on its fibre side.

Put the stiffener on the covered mould and clamp tightly
using the plates and c-clamps.

Allow the composite leaf spring to cure enough at room
temperature.

Remove it from the set up and trim the excess material.
tightly using the plates and c clamps.

Allow the composite leaf spring to cure enough atroom
temperature.

Remove it from the set up and trim the excess material.
Figures and tables must be centered in the columns.
V. Results
Therefore, there is significant difference in the stresses and
deflection in springs under the same static load conditions.
Stresses and deflection in structural leaf spring found to be
less as compared to the other leaf spring. Totally it is found
that the structural leaf spring is the better that of other leaf
spring. Therefore, it is concluded.
@ IJTSRD | Unique Paper ID - IJTSRD23528 | Volume – 3 | Issue – 3 | Mar-Apr 2019
Fig2. Leaf spring model
VI. Conclusion
1. As leaf spring contributes considerable amount of weight
to the vehicle and needs to be strong enough, a single
composite leaf spring is designed, and it is shown that the
resulting design and simulation stresses are much below
the strength properties of the material satisfying the
maximum stress failure criterion.
2. From the static analysis results, we see that the von-
mises stress in the steel is 352.917 MPa. And the von-
mises stress in Eglass/ Epoxy is 178.356MPa.
3. Composite mono leaf spring reduces the weight by nearly
84% for E-Glass/Epoxy.
4. From the fatigue analysis results, the usage factor of
Eglass/Epoxy is very much less compared to steel.
VII. References
[1] M. Venkateshan, D. Helmen Devraj, Design and analysis
of leaf spring in light vehicles, IJMER 2249-6645 Vol.2,
Issue.1, pp.213-218, Jan-Feb 2012.
[2] R. S. Khurmi and J. K. Gupta Machine Design chapter 23.
[3] U. S. Ramakant & K. Sowjanya, Design and analysis of
automotive multi leaf springs using composite
material, IJMPERD 2249-6890 Vol. 3, Issue 1,pp.155-
162, March 2013,
[4] Rajendran I, Vijayarangan S, Design and Analysis of a
Composite Leaf Spring, Journal of Institute of
Engineers, India ,vol.-8,2-2002
[5] Dakshraj Kothari,Rajendra Prasad Sahu and Rajesh
Satankar Comparison of Performance of Two Leaf
Spring Steels Used For Light Passenger Vehicle, VSRD-
MAP 2249-8303 Volume2 (1), 9-16, 2012
[6] Mr. V. Lakshmi Narayana, Design and Analysis of Mono
Composite Leaf Spring For Suspension in Automobiles,
IJERT 2278-0181, Vol. 1 Issue 6, August – 2012
[7] Shishay Amare Gebremeskel, Design, Simulation, and
Prototyping of Single Composite Leaf Spring for Light
Weight Vehicle, Global Journals Inc. (USA) 2249-4596,
Volume 12 Issue 7, 21- 30, 2012
[8] Manas Patnaik, NarendraYadav, Study of a Parabolic
Leaf Spring by Finite Element Method & Design of
Experiments, IJMER 2249- 6645, Vol.2, 1920- 1922,
July-Aug 2012
[9] Design and Analysis of E-Glass/Epoxy Composite
Monoleaf Spring for Light Vehicle SushilB.Chopade1,
Prof.K.M.Narkar2 , Pratik K Satav3
[10] Investigation on different Compositions of E-
Glass/Epoxy Composite and its application in Leaf
Spring Suhas1 , Jaimon D. Q.2 , Hanumanthraya R. 3 ,
Vaishak N. L4 , Mahesh B. Davanageri5.
[11] Tribological Behaviour of E-Glass /Epoxy & E-Glass
/polyester Composites for Automotive Body
Application Esmael Adem1 , P.Prabhu
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